"Char, what's wrong with Alicia?
It's past ten o'clock, why are you still covered in quilts and not awake?
If you don't wake up no matter how you scream, is it because you haven't recovered from your previous illness? "
Arthur stood at Char's door and said worriedly that since the director of the orphanage who was closest to him died, he was very afraid of death, so he was always worried about Alicia's body.
Xia Ya was sitting in front of the workbench playing with something at the moment, placing some wine he bought from the imperial capital, some imported rum, and some cane sugar and the like.
"She's fine." Xia Ya said while busying with the things in her hands, "Have you ever heard of a saying?"
"What?" Arthur asked.
"You can never wake up a person who is pretending to sleep." Xia Ya joked.
"Are you saying Alicia is pretending to sleep?" Arthur said with some confusion, "Why is she pretending to sleep?"
"People always want to sleep a little longer, right?" Xia Ya said.
Arthur nodded, "Then when will she get up?"
"Wait for her... to reconcile with herself last night."
Xia Ya whispered in a low voice, saying that he had already prepared what he wanted to make. He picked up the drink in front of him and took a sip, then nodded with satisfaction.
With a wave of his hand, all the tools and wine on the table disappeared without a trace.
"Reconciliation?" Arthur became even more confused, "Did she do anything last night?"
But Xia Ya had already passed through him and walked downstairs without answering his hundred thousand whys.
Sonny was running up from the stairs. For this lion cub, the stairs seemed a bit high and it was a bit difficult to climb.
Seeing Char coming down, it looked at Char with longing eyes, expecting him to take him up, but Char ignored it.
He picked up the coat hanging on one side at the foot of the stairs and said to Alicia in the curtain under the stairs.
"I will be going out for awhile."
"Wow~"
The curtain was opened, and Alicia wrapped herself in the quilt behind the curtain, only revealing a pair of eyes. The sapphire-like eyes gave people a quiet and calm gorgeous feeling.
This was the first time that Xia Ya carefully observed her eyes.
"How much do you remember about last night?"
Xia Ya looked at her with some confusion, "Didn't we go to the banquet together last night?"
"What I'm saying is..." Alicia bit her lip, "How much do you still remember what I said last night?"
Xia Ya frowned slightly and said as if he was trying to remember.
"The sound was too loud and I couldn't hear it clearly. Are you talking about something important?
Otherwise, tell me again. "
"No, no!" Alicia said quickly, "It's not important, not important at all!"
Xia Ya smiled with a hint of meaning, "Is that so..."
He turned around and said, "Then I'll leave first."
As the door clicked, Alicia, who confirmed that Char had left, pulled the curtain back.
She curled up her limbs, burying her entire face in the quilt, and her ears were red and hot.
"What on earth...did I..."
Calcifer, who was sitting on the stove, witnessed all this. He looked at the door and then at the curtain on one side. He tilted his eyes in confusion.
Human beings are really difficult to understand.
.....
Xia walked out of the gate of Eagle Point Port. He learned the identity of the old man last night, or in other words, the identity of the old man in this town.
He begged on the east coast. People's impression of him was that he was an alcoholic who was drunk all day long. All the money he earned from begging would eventually be used to buy alcohol.
He basically lays down in the same place every day to bask in the sun, so it didn't take long for Char to find him.
He was lying in the corner, closing his eyes and taking a nap. He still smelled of alcohol, his cheeks were slightly red, and he looked tipsy.
"I think I have some concepts that are different from yours." Xia Ya said.
The old man slowly opened his eyes, crossed his arms on his chest, and looked at him with interest.
"You are right, life is indeed meaningless." Xia Ya said.
"The history of human existence can be traced back to ancient times, perhaps only a few hundred thousand years, but the stars in the sky have existed for billions of years. Human beings are just insignificant dust to the universe.
One day we will be forgotten by people and the world. "
After a pause, he continued.
“However, in this reality, every day that people live becomes more precious.
In other words, living is the meaning of life.
Because of limited life, people will pursue the meaning of life, and the process of pursuit is part of the meaning.
I understand what you mean, praise life, accept the vagaries of life, and face all sorrows with indulgence.
But I think the beauty of life is definitely more than indulgence, and the joy of drinking should be more than just drunkenness. "
Xia Ya raised his hand, and a glass cup appeared in his hand. Liquid poured out of the glass automatically. He handed the cup to the old man.
The old man took the wine glass and took a sip of the wine. The taste was cool, refreshing, sweet and sour, giving people a clear feeling. His eyes were slightly bright, and he looked at the wine glass in his hand.
"What's this?"
“A mixed drink, I call it a cocktail,” said Char.
This wine is ordinary wine bought from the imperial capital. Naturally, it cannot be compared with the wine brewed by Dionysus. However, the beauty of innovation and imagination behind it is the same.
The old man seemed to be very interested in this wine. He took another sip and said, "It has the taste of light rum. The mint makes the whole drink refreshing. The collision of lime and wine is very eye-catching.
There is also a taste that I have never tasted before. The tiny bubbles burst in the mouth. It is simply a stroke of genius and very interesting. "
"That's called soda water." Xia Ya raised her eyebrows and said, "My exclusive secret recipe."
"Interesting, so interesting."
The old man looked at the wine glass with burning eyes, "When different wines are mixed with something, they can have such an interesting taste.
You invented a new wine.
The fusion of wines from different places creates a new and interesting experience. It is really a gorgeous and free wine. "
He raised his head and looked at Char.
"You should not only be able to make this kind of cocktail bar."
"I know many recipes, and this is just one of them. I named it 'Mojito'." Xia Ya said, "This is not the best tasting one."
When it is difficult to find a job in your major, you will always be forced to learn some other skills, and bartending is one of them.
"I seem to understand what you mean."
The old man drank the remaining wine in the glass in one gulp.
"This wine brings me a kind of pleasure other than drunkenness, like the changing seasons and the elusive girl's heart."
The old man looked at him quietly, with a gleam of wisdom in his bright eyes, "Can you teach me? I'm also interested in the water you mentioned, as if there are elves jumping in the mouth."
Xia Ya thought for a while and said, "I want to open a bar and sell this kind of wine, but I still need a bartender..."
"You want to hire me?"
The old man slowly grinned and laughed at himself.
"Hire a beggar who only knows how to drink?"
Xia Ya showed a faint smile and his eyes moved, "I think that if you come, my bar will at least not lose money.
And you look like you have a lot of time, don't you?
I can teach you every recipe I know and provide you with unlimited soda. "
The old man nodded and murmured softly.
"It's really a bargain that people can't refuse..."
After a pause, he said, "I can promise you, but I still have some things to do, but I will be back before your store opens.
By the way, I haven’t found the source of the wine you sell yet, right? "
"Not yet." Xia Ya said.
"Then there's no need to go. When I come back, I'll take you to a good place." He said.
Char smiled and said, "Looking forward to your arrival, Mr. Dionysus."
"I have no longer used that name." The old man said, "Now, I am just a wanderer living in this era. You can call me, Semele. That's where I come from..."
As he spoke, he struggled to get up from the ground and walked towards the end of the alley. He was walking with a slight limp, as if he was still on a slope.
No one would have thought that such a crippled beggar could ever have been a powerful god.
Xia Ya saw the end of an era in him.
He had no intention of inviting this person to be his bartender, and even the idea of opening a bar just came up.
The reason why he made a cocktail to give this being a taste was also influenced by yesterday's Dionysus Festival. He also happened to have discovered a natural soda water spring not long ago, so he had itchy hands and wanted to try it.
Compared to giving it to Alicia and Arthur, it is natural to give it to people who know how to drink.
Of course, he comes mainly to make friends.
After all, one more friend opens up a new path. In this strange world, it never hurts to make some great friends.
When he just said, "We still need a bartender," he actually said something else after that. The general meaning was that when he recruits a suitable person, he can also teach the bartender along with him.
But he didn't expect that before he finished speaking, the god of wine took over the words, and Xia Ya naturally had to follow his words.
I really didn’t expect it to succeed.
For a being at his level, some things in the world should be insignificant, but he should pursue something purer. His cocktail just touches this point.
Xia Ya is not worried about him leaving midway. After all, there are no cocktails in this era. As a drink that has been practiced in the market, it is only a matter of time before it becomes popular and it will not take long for the money to be recovered.
And he didn't do it to make money.
Watching the old man's back disappear completely before his eyes, Xia Ya smiled, and then walked back to his castle along the original path.
He walked through several alleys and crossed streets, and suddenly he stopped.
He let out a soft breath, then raised his head and looked at the roof of the house on one side.
There, a woman with a huge hat on her head was looking at him, and she slowly opened her mouth.
"Xia Ya, I finally found you..."
